Date: April 22, 2022 • Elevation: 4,016 feet • Prominence: 336 feet • Distance: 2 miles • Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes • Gain: 490 feet gross • Conditions: Cool, puffy clouds and very breezy

Arizona • Main • LoJ

I was driving to Flagstaff and sought a peak that was close to the interstate and wouldn't take too long. This one looked enticing. It has a road to its top, which was welcome as hiking through brush this time of year is asking for trouble (snakes).

I got out of Phoenix and up the grade onto the higher plateau, and exited at the Cordes Lakes interchange, route AZ-69 heading northwest to Prescott. I went right, then right again, going south, now on Stagecoach Road, heading toward the town of Cordes Lakes. In the town, which is a grid of trailers and small homes, I followed Stagecoach as it bent east, then south on Red Rock, then east on Quail Run.

Quail Run "ends" at the last of the homes and becomes dirt, now a gravel road that bends southeast. The online maps call it the E Z Ranch or Kelton Ranch Road. About a half mile later, the road splits, a left going to the E Z Ranch, right going to the Kelton place. I stayed right (straight). Past a cattle grate, I turned right (south) onto an unnamed track that parallels power lines. I followed this track and parked at a high spot near the power lines. Peak 4016 was in view, a mile to the southeast.

The main dirt roads were gravelly but in good shape, and the secondary road past the cattle grate was pretty good too. It braids, so I guessed and mainly drove "toward" the power lines. The road then descends steeply into Big Bug Creek. The grade would have been too much for my car, so I parked back at the aforementioned high spot, so I could see it better as I walked out.

The day was cool and very breezy, with big puffy clouds blowing through quickly. Once properly attired, I walked down the road into Big Bug Creek, and crossed it, then up its other side briefly. I made a quick right at a junction. The track aimed southeast and crossed the Agua Fria National Monument boundary, Peak 4016 right there, ever so close. I stayed left at two Y-junctions as I encountered them. The navigation was easy, not confusing at all.

At the west base of the hill, the road ascended a rib, then much steeper to what may have been an old tiny mine. To the base, the road was not bad, a Jeep would be fine on it. However, as the road angled up the hill, it dropped about nine notches in quality. Even for hiking, it was a chore, with loose rock and very steep slopes. But it was short. After one more bend, I was on top.

The one-way hike took me about 40 minutes, covering a mile and about 400 net feet of gain, not counting an 80-foot drop and regain into Big Bug Creek. A cairn marks the top but (to me) seems slightly offset from the actual tippy top. I snapped a few photos but didn't stop or sit. The views up here were lovely, lots of peaks and rolling hills in all directions.

I hiked out the same way, returning to my vehicle in a half-hour. The hike went well, with no surprises. The route was easy to follow and was not a bad way to break up the drive. It's not much of a peak, but because it's so close to the interstate with good road access, it's an easy peak to tag if driving in the area.